AN: You know, they can make people fly into outer space and live on Mars and build machines that can do anything but make you a sandwich, but they CAN'T find out where my stomachaches come from.
Well, anyway, here's the new chapter.
Have fun,
Love Kate
Chapter Eighty-Three: Nicking a nice ship form a nasty man
"We should get going." Conner said after a long tense silence.
"The tide is coming in and it's getting darker by the minute. If we want to get out of here, we have to do it now." He added.
Hiccup looked down at the water splashing around his feet.
Conner was right.
His hands were still clutched round the wooden frame of the picture.
The picture.
The answers he'd longed for had been given to him but still Hiccup felt as if he was still missing something.
Besides that, dread was filling him.
All of their ancestors had dies in their war against Darkness. Who said that they wouldn't die too?
"Hiccup? Hello? Anyone home?" Josh asked, waving a hand in front of his eyes.
Hiccup flinched and looked up.
"What?" he asked.
Kate smiled slightly.
"Conner said we needed to get going." She said.
"I know." Hiccup mumbled.
Next to him George groaned.
"Please Haddock. Let us deal with our escape plan before you sink into long philosophical conversations with yourself about what the old dodderer just told us. Because I don't fancy staying here." The older boy said and shook Hiccup not too softly by the shoulders.
Hiccup pushed him off.
"I get it." He growled and grabbed his stuff.
"Let's do this." He mumbled with a heavy heart.
.
.
All concentration was lost.
Hiccup forgot all they had planned and just stumbled along the others, his thoughts lost in the past and possibilities and wishful thinking.
"Hiccup, keep it down you big oaf, will you?" Hope hissed for the umpteenth time and shot him a glare.
"Really mate, you will blow our cover if you don't cut it out right now." Josh agreed.
Hiccup rubbed his temples. His head felt like it would explode any minute.
His backpack was heavy, the straps were cutting into his shoulders.
"Sorry. I…I just…." He mumbled.
"We get it Hic but let's worry about what that meant later, alright?" Kate begged and threw a glance over her shoulder.
The dock of Georges family as the one on the far right side of the entire harbor.
There were giant spiked gates, security and controls everywhere.
Hiccup wondered how Conner wanted to get them through all of that.
As they approached the first front gate, he got a first glimpse of the dock.
It was a long about seven meter wide and about 50 meters long wooden and metal platform with smaller ones leading ever now and then off to the left and right.
In the space between them lay the boats.
Just like in the rest of the harbor these watercrafts were all different but they all had one thing in common.
They were gigantic.
Some had up to four masts; others were as tall as houses with smoke coming out of giant chimneys.
At the very end on the dock lay a tall and long boat but not as wide as most of the ships, made from dark wood with big scuttles and two strong masts with rolled up sails.
From three chimneys wisps of smoke curled into the air.
Form a tow that stretched from the top of the mast nearest to the heck to the very back, colorful flags and burgees flattered in the slight evening breeze.
Hiccup couldn't see much of the deck because the high railing was in the way.
A gangway lead up to the deck but it was locked up.
Still, Hiccup could see light floating outside through the scuttles.
But otherwise no one was close to the ship.
And then he spotted the name, writing in silver paint across the whole hull of the ship, so big he first didn't really see it.
Huntress of the sea.
That was the ship Conner intended to steal?
Was he mad?
How would a bunch of teenagers command such a big ship without a crew?
"Conner you are mad. We can't steal that boat. It's too big! How would we handle it?" he hissed.
Conner shook his head.
"I told you, it's steam-powered. You basically have to do nothing. Every now and again you have to fill the fires with the black-crystal-coal. But it only burns slowly so it lasts very long while creating a lot of head and thus energy. You only have to steer it and raise the sails if you want too. And besides she's the only boat big enough to hold the dragons. Every other ship will sink under such strain. Dragons are heavy after all!" Conner argued back.
"And you really know how to handle this ship?" Hiccup asked.
"God, yes Hiccup, I do. I grew up on this ship."
"And there's nothing that can go wrong with that plan?"
"If all goes smoothly as it should."
"You have a plan B just to be sure?"
"…."
"Conner?"
"We'll improvise."
Hiccup paled.
Kate rolled with her eyes.
"Really Hic, I thought you were a friend of improvisation. After all, you improvise the whole time."
"This is different." Hiccup mumbled.
"Everything is different now." Hope said silently.
She was right in every possible way.
Hiccup took a deep breath.
"Alright. Let's do this."
.
.
.
It was surprising how easy it was in the end.
The guards at the first gate didn't spare them a second glance after Conner showed them some kind of batch and just stepped aside, looking as bored at their colleagues at the city gate.
The Huntress had been the last ship to enter this evening, coming back from another day of fishing on the high sea outside the save bay the city was nestled in.
So due to that the dock was practically deserted.
Here and there people hurried along, carrying baskets, tows and ropes, backpacks, pushed wheelbarrows and rolled barrels from A to B.
They passed five more gates inside the dock but no one stopped them.
Or as Conner put it: "Once you're in, nobody really cares who you are."
He stopped them at the only building on the dock itself, as small hut that read 'Administration' over the door.
Inside sat an old man with stiff joints that barked at them for being late when they said why they were there.
He gave a set of keys to Conner and some papers that he was to give to the people in the dock on the island where they were suppose to bring the ship.
Hiccup was astonished how easily everyone here was fooled.
After living in hardship for almost all his live, especially these last month, with suspicious people at every corner, this experience seemed surreal to him.
Conner thanked the old man and said that "They would bring the baby home soon".
The old man just snorted and then reached into one of the desk drawers and pulled out six small pouches and handed them to them.
"Your payment." He only said before dismissing them.
Yep, Hiccup decided, this had to be a dream because nothing could be this easy.
He should really stop jinxing the luck he got.
They made it easily to the ship.
Despite the little natural light that was left the dock was lit up bright as daylight with no shadows.
Still they easily made it to the boat without anyone sparing them any second glance.
They boarded it, explored a few minutes, picked each a cabin to stay in and left their stuff there to gather around the steering-wheel to hear Conners plan and instructions.
"Alright people. The engine is still working but it needs refueling. Josh, go down there and start scooping the coal that lays all around in piles the room into the six fire-pits and make sure to be careful and close the doors to the pits after you finished filling them. Six loads of the shovels in each pit should be enough for now." Josh nodded and headed off.
"Right, while he does that we need to get everything else ready. The fire will need it's time to heat up and produce enough heat. While it odes that I want Hope and George to activate the pumps. They pump water from the sea into the boilers where the water is heated, becomes water vapor, which powers the engines. The boilers are in the belly of the ship but they are huge and need to be full the whole time. Once the pump is active it does it on its own but until them you need to pull the big read lever down and down again, once it traveled back to the top again. Don't worry, you can't miss it and it's labeled. You need to do it with all three boilers. At least five times each. Alright?" "Aye Captain." Hope said. George nodded and they followed the direction Josh had taken.
"Kate, you need to open the chimneys. They are half closed. Next to each is a rod that you need to turn so long until it doesn't go any further. They will open the only partly opened lids fully." Kate nodded and went to climb the three steep stairs up the house to the chimneys, of which each was as big as his father and four times as wide.
"And what can I do?" Hiccup asked.
"I need you to order these tows and recoil them in neatly piles. Also, when you are done with that I need you to fetch the fenders on the open side of the boat and put them in there." Conner pointed at a large inbuilt chest on top the deck.
"And when you finished that I need your help with undoing the ropes on the harbor except two so that when we cast off, we can do it from the ship by pulling on the tows."
Hiccup nodded.
He wasn't as skilled sailor but his father had taught him a lot and his time with Will had contributed a lot to that.
He easily finished his tasks and when he put the last of the giant fenders into the inbuilt cabinet, which was much bigger than it looked, Kate had finished her task too.
By the time the three of them had gathered at the steering wheel again, thick columns of steam were rising from the chimneys and a slight hum went through the ship.
Conner nodded approvingly.
"Good. Not long and we'll be able to cast off. The darkness is a good advantage and I know these waters. There're not many dangerous spots so I'm very optimistic. And besides, before they have a ship ready to follow us, we'll be long gone."
His confidence was infectious.
Hiccup started to feel more relaxed and confident himself.
"Alright, now to the last part. The others should be done in a few minutes. Hiccup, you are with me, Kate, stay here and keep an eye on things. If there's something wrong, tell us." Conner instructed and led Hiccup down the gangway, back onto the dock.
"Alright, we'll keep the stern and heck fastenings but make them as a sling so we'll only have to pull on one side to get free when we cast off. You'll do the heck, I'll do the stern. Unfasten the others, roll them up and throw them up on deck."
Hiccup nodded and hurried over to the tow.
It was wrapped around a thick iron post, about knee-high, that looked like a 'T'. The rope itself was a thick as Hiccups arm and worn from years of use but still strong and crusted with salt.
He worked quickly but the tow was heavy and hard to bend and the knots although simple, hard to untie and retying was even harder but he managed just fine.
As he moved to the next rope to undo it and throw it up onto deck he felt the wooden planks under his feet vibrate.
Only slightly at first but it grew.
He looked up and back towards the first front gate.
He couldn't see much due to the other gates and the few people that were still there and loads of goods that were piled on the runways, but he did see the group of men entering the dock.
He looked back to Conner he was crouching low two tows away from him, so wrapped up in his work that he hadn't seen the men yet.
Above them Kate whistled slightly.
"Conner." He half shouted, half whispered.
Said boy looked up. Hiccup jerked his head towards the approaching men. "Someone's coming." He mouthed.
Conner nodded, got up, pointed at the tows, then to Hiccup.
Hiccup nodded. He would continue, while Conner would look what was going on.
He threw a quick glance up to the deck.
Kate was hiding in the shadows and ne nodded at her to warn the others and get ready if necessary.
He then hurried over to the remaining tows.
He nearly stumbled and fell into the port basin when somewhere far behind him a gruff voice shouted through the silence of the early night:
"OI! Why's there still light on the Huntress?"
Hiccups heart skipped a beat. His hands moved even quicker but the rope seemed to work against him.
His hands were sweaty and he tried to block out the voices but it was hard.
He could now hear the old man growling: "The lads are bringing her over for inspection. But they're late the idiots. Well, not our problem."
The first voice answered.
"Well it is my problem if those thick-headed idiots damage my boat."
Hiccup froze. His boats? But these were….Conners' dad's boats.
Oh hell.
And Conner was here. Conner was walking towards his father.
The father that wanted him dead.
The man, who must have been Jarred O'Connell, spoke again.
"And besides, she isn't due until tomorrow! Didn't you read right in the book again? Today we have the 'Venus' over there and tomorrow we bring the Huntress and come back with the Venus!"
Oh-o! Hiccups panic only grew.
And where the hell was Conner?
"I did check the book when the lads came and it said that it would be today." The old man growled.
"Get me the book, I will check it myself."
Hiccup let out a small breath of relief. Maybe this would gain them a few precious seconds.
"OI! Boy!"
For a horrible second Hiccup thought Conners father had seen him.
But when he swirled around, he saw Conner, still in his disguise with a strange hat pulled low over his head, stepping forward.
"Yes sir?" he asked in a much deeper voice and with a slight slang.
"You working on my Huntress?"
"Aye sir."
Hiccup could tell Conner was nervous.
He craned his neck to see what was going on.
Conner was standing next to a pile of empty barrels, only a few feet away from his father.
Hiccups first impression of Mr. O'Connell Senior was that the man looked total average.
He was neither very tall nor small, he was slim and agile, yes, but not overly muscular. He was dressed in brown pants, calve-high leather-boots, a grey-laced shirt and a brown waistcoat strapped around his middle with a matching belt. His hair was flat on his head and looked somewhere between brown and blonde.
He was armed with a bow and a quiver full with arrows but also with knifes and a short sword.
He had a permanent frown etched into his face but otherwise he didn't strike Hiccup as unusual. In a crowd his face would blend in with that of others. He was easy to overlook.
But Hiccup guessed that that was only helpful. The man was a hunter after all and blending in with his surroundings is something every hunter must be able to do.
He could also see that Conner was playing nervously with the hem of his sleeves.
"What's your name boy? You're not one of my usual crew members. Did Jack hire you?"
Conner nodded and said in a slightly shaking voice: "He…he and Andrew didn't have time to do it tomorrow but they were busy with the 'Queen of the Waves' today so they asked me to do it. Because he knew that the Huntress had to be inspected because of the insurance and everything. But I learned under Jack. I can do it sir."
"But why didn't you do it tomorrow? And why wasn't I informed?"
Conner was shifting his weight.
Keep it together, please, Hiccup prayed.
"It was all very spontaneously. And I have to help Andrew tomorrow so we guess we'd do it tonight."
"Did you check it with the dock master on the island?" Jarred O'Connell asked growling.
Conner nodded.
He was getting more nervous by the minute.
There was a tense silence, in which Hiccup managed to loosen the last tow. He threw it up to Kate, who caught it and silently put it away.
The hum was louder now.
The ship was ready for departure. Hiccup could see that the two remaining roped that kept the boat in place were firm and not hanging anymore.
There was a lot of pressure on them.
When he looked back up, he saw that Hope and George had joined Kate. That must have meant that the boilers were ready and filling with water.
Then he looked back to Conner.
They needed to go. Now.
But O'Connell Senior was working against then.
"What's your name? Jack didn't tell me about any new…apprentices."
"Maybe that is because I'm new? My name is….Michael."
Hiccup winced at the slight hesitation.
He wanted to help Conner so desperately. But how?
In that moment the old man came back, carrying two books.
"Looks like there was a small mistake." He grumbled.
"This book says that the Huntress is due for the dock today but the copy we keep says tomorrow. One must be wrong."
O'Connell Senior narrowed his eyes, his hands twitching towards his weapons.
"I don't make mistakes. And my men are trained not to make mistakes." He growled and stepped towards Conner.
"And Jack would have told me." He added in a dangerously low voice.
"Who are you boy? Really? And what do you want with my finest ship?"
Shit. That was all that went through Hiccups head.
And his panic grew when Jarred O'Connell quickly pulled off Conners head and starred right into his sons face.
For a moment everything was silent and still.
Jarred O'Connell didn't move at all.
Conner looked like a frightened deer in a trap.
Hiccup threw all caution in the wind.
He sprinted towards Conner, his eyes taking in everything, his brain working on a plan, a distraction, something.
His gaze fell on the piled barrels.
They were hold together by some ropes that were anchored in the ground.
He thought for only a second.
"CONNER, MOVE!" he shouted as he threw two of his throwing knives.
His shout woke up everyone and several things happened.
Conner flinched, looked up and at him, saw what Hiccup was doing and dived to the side, starting to sprint down the dock.
Jarred O'Connell too unfroze and faster than Hiccup had thought was humanly possible, he had his bow in his hands with and arrow notched into the string and was pulling back.
The other men started shouting and running, drawing weapons.
And Hiccups knives hit their target with full force.
Two of the tows were cut clean through but for a horrible second none of the barrels moved and Hiccup thought it wouldn't work.
He shouted for Conner to run faster, he saw how his father pulled back the string and let go of the arrow.
That was the moment the barrels came tumbling down, knocking over men and blocking the path but also Hiccup view of the arrow.
The barrels were still rolling around and causing havoc. He saw men fall into the water and Jarred O'Connell driving to safety behind a carriage.
And then he finally saw Conner sprinting towards him.
"RUN!" Conner shouted and Hiccup did and together they raced side by side towards the gangway to the ship.
"UNDO THE ROPES!" Conner shouted at their friends and Hiccup saw Kate and Hope hurry to the remaining ropes and pull them loose.
Imminently the boat started drifting away from the dock, the gangway, a simple plank, started to shake and come loose.
The sprinted it up and as the plank got loose and fell, they pushed one last time, sailing through the air, towards their friends' outstretched hands and anxious faces.
Hiccup slammed into the boat, sliding down, his hands instantly searching for something garb onto.
He found something and his descend stopped abruptly.
And then something crashed into him, making him nearly lose his hand-hold again.
The something slid down next to him but managed to hold onto his leg.
It was Conner.
Now they were both dangling at the side of the boat, the sea suddenly far away underneath them and Hiccup was only hanging there by his fingers.
He could hear shouts from the dicks and suddenly Conner below him cried out in pain.
Hiccup risked a glance down and froze.
There was an arrow sticking out of Conner shoulder, making it painful to hold on for him.
Hiccup looked over his shoulder and saw that at the rapidly vanishing dock Jarred O'Connell stood with raised bow, ready to let another arrow fly.
An arrow that wouldn't miss this time.
But then two faces appeared above him.
Josh and George.
They both grabbed one of his arms and hauled him up, with Conner still dangling from his leg.
With a few mighty pulls and some grunts the two of them lay seconds later gasping for breath on the deck.
Arrows whizzed past them but they were quickly sailing out of reach.
Hiccup saw Kate at the steering wheel, driving them out of the danger-zone.
"Thanks." He gasped and then looked down at Conner, who had a pained expression on his face.
But Hope was already there, examining the wound.
"Are you alright?" Hiccup asked.
"I have a freaking arrow sticking out of my shoulder and I just, again, escaped my dad, again, barely. Guess show I feel."
Hiccup grinned.
"Let me guess, you want to do it again?"
"Hell yes." Conner panted. "Did you see my dad's face? That was awesome! And all the adrenalin is making me woozy. It's a nice feeling!"
As Hiccup and George laughed, Hope shook her head.
"Men. You are so….I don't know…you make absolutely no sense." She said.
Conner laughed shakily.
"Just tend my wounds woman. Leave the rest to us." He said jokingly. For that he got a painful slap to the head.
"Keep it down. I'm the one you can cure you or make you suffer if I want to."
"Yes Miss."
.
.
Definitely one of my favorite ones.